Worth it if you're not into waifu/husbando scene?

[Duchess of Kvetch]

OK, I am probably the only person playing VN's over 40, but I ended up getting into them due to a love for adventure games. VN's are just an opportunity to experience a good story in an even lazier fashion for me, which after a looooong day at work is pleasant enough.

However, I *know* I am not the traditional demographic, and feel a bit weird romancing teenagers. I have zero interest in the aspect of the game that deals with buying gifts so I can eventually get someone's panties, or earning achievements at all.

Only interested in the "experience" of the story playthrough, and the associated lulz from character choices/development/death.

I have a super-dark sense of humor, so I definitely don't mind explicit death scenes and gore. But hentai or fan service? Not offended by it, it's just not my thing. I have my own girl parts, thank you. I was a bit put off by some of the rapey scenes in Stein's Gate, but I've learned to let certain aspects of anime culture slide when experiencing them.

TLDR - are the flirting/romance bits optional, or required to complete the game? And are they so integral as to be unavoidable in every scene?

[GLaPOS]

I just started playing and from what I can tell there is no really dating and such. There are some vague interpretations/undertones but nothing concrete and lovey dovey. You have free time which you can spend with a person but that is more to flesh out the characters and gain some skills. The game says you can skip these at some point if you just want to go forward with the story.
So I do not think you have anything to worry about.

[⊿Draelyn]

Originally posted by GLaPOS:

I just started playing and from what I can tell there is no really dating and such. There are some vague interpretations/undertones but nothing concrete and lovey dovey. You have free time which you can spend with a person but that is more to flesh out the characters and gain some skills. The game says you can skip these at some point if you just want to go forward with the story.
So I do not think you have anything to worry about.

Exactly what he's said. The only real dating/waifu stuff is really just found in an optional bonus mode after completing the game. Spending time with characters in the main game is really just to learn more about the character and gain skills. This game is a murder/mystery game, not a waifu simulator.

[Duchess of Kvetch]

Thanks!

I'm definitely not bothered by it, just didn't want it to be a central focus of the game. I totally get why people might crush on characters though, of their own volition.

[⊿Draelyn]

Originally posted by Duchess of Kvetch:

Thanks!

I'm definitely not bothered by it, just didn't want it to be a central focus of the game. I totally get why people might crush on characters though, of their own volition.

Np :P Thankfully not a central focus =3 and yeaah :L heheh ^^" that can happen...

[Duchess of Kvetch]

I'm actually playing thru Higarushi right now, and it certainly has its share of high school romance. If you can call it that. *winkyface*. No spoilers.

The experience is different though because it's more of a movie seen thru the eyes of a boy.

[GLaPOS]

Originally posted by Duchess of Kvetch:

I'm actually playing thru Higarushi right now, and it certainly has its share of high school romance. If you can call it that. *winkyface*. No spoilers.

The experience is different though because it's more of a movie seen thru the eyes of a boy.

Glad to be of help! Is Higarushi linear or are there multiple endings and sequences?

[Duchess of Kvetch]

No choices what what I know, but I have only completed Ch 1, You;re just a spectator for someone descending into madnesss, with a heavy amount of unreliable narrator. The next "Chapter" is the same setting and charactersm a different parallel timeline. Different truths are revealed from the branching paths, so it's like a new playthrough where you made different choices, but are still being dragged along to your doom.

[Black Hammer]

I'm also older than the usual demographic for VNs, and enjoy them for the same reason you mentioned: sometimes when I get done work, I don't want to boot up a beefy strategy game, I want something slightly more interactive than TV.

I'm two chapters into Danganronpa, and really happy with it so far. There doesn't seem to be any romance so far, just some minor relationship building between characters.

Regarding Higurashi, it's a weird story. Be forewarned each chapter is quite different in structure; don't expect anything to hold true from one to the next.

[GLaPOS]

Cool agreed yeah! I do not want a ton of gameplay and remember 500 combination and spells and such. I am glad you are enjoying Danganronpa. I finished the first two chapters last night as well but I am wondering if I should have upped the difficulty. What difficulty are you playing for?

Thanks for the heads up with Higurashi. I probably will try it out eventually. I think I watched the anime a lon time and remember it being crazy and maddening!

Do you enjoy VNs that are more linear single ending or ones with multiple endings and choices?

[⊿Draelyn]

Personally I play on the highest difficulty for both settings, I've done this for both DR1 and 2 and I've actually never played on a different difficulty. I'd been told that It's simply too easy otherwise, and the highest difficulty setting isn't ridiculous so don't worry about that, but probably more like how the game is meant to be played.

[Duchess of Kvetch]

How does "difficulty" affect this game? Is it just for the 'mni games" I've read about? Or does it affect the clues you get within the game itself?

As far as Higurashi, if you saw the animes, know that they move at the speed of light compared to the VN. They're like cliff notes versions of the VN, which is a slooooooow burn (with lots and lots of fluffy buildup that imo goes on for Too Damn Long). Game could use some paring down, but it's so fun once it finally flips the switch into nightmreland.

[Black Hammer]

Originally posted by Duchess of Kvetch:

How does "difficulty" affect this game? Is it just for the 'mni games" I've read about? Or does it affect the clues you get within the game itself?

I think it's the minigame difficulty, mostly. My guess is it adds extra options to pick from (so instead of two choices, you have three or more), keeps the added difficulty elements (white noise or invisible beats), and similar things. I played on the middle option, and was occasionally frustrated by the slightly weird timing on some of them. I would rather the clues were harder to connect and the timing minigames were easier or gone.

I had fun with the game, but I doubt I'd get another one in the series. Too many plot holes, I didn't enjoy the minigames during the trials, and I am not wild that I probably spent two or more hours waiting on transitions or the monomono capsule machine.

Pace was slow. At least in Higurashi, the slowness early on is at least used for foreshadowing or to build the plot later. The nightly interludes of the Monokuma Show added little to nothing.

[grantoldman]

Originally posted by Duchess of Kvetch:

OK, I am probably the only person playing VN's over 40

I'm 37 and I've gotten 100% completion on this game, Ultra Despair Girls (which is an action game but has enough dialogue to be a visual novel), and am currently working for the same (90% there as of the writing of this post) on Danganronpa 2.

[Osawa Ascendant]

As someone who typically has no interest in VNs or weeby caricatures of romance, I still recommend the Danganronpa stuff. There's plenty going on to entertain even if you aren't one of those weird people who buys creepy pillow cases of animus.

[Duchess of Kvetch]

Originally posted by grantoldman:

Originally posted by Duchess of Kvetch:

OK, I am probably the only person playing VN's over 40

I'm 37 and I've gotten 100% completion on this game, Ultra Despair Girls (which is an action game but has enough dialogue to be a visual novel), and am currently working for the same (90% there as of the writing of this post) on Danganronpa 2.

I figure we will eventually have really interesting retirement villages for old gamers.